


Waiting

by TruebornAlpha



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Crushes, Fluff, Galaxy Garrison, M/M, Missing Scene, Mutual Pining, Pre-Kerberos Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 19:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12372045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TruebornAlpha/pseuds/TruebornAlpha
Summary: Shiro and Keith say goodbye before the Kerberos mission launch. What really happened in the background of Matt Holt's picture!





	Waiting

Shiro should have been feeling proud if it hadn’t all been so overwhelming.

After all of his years of work, sacrifice, and patience, the day was finally here. Shiro had given everything for the chance to be on a mission like this, putting in so much extracurricular training to stay at the top of his class, he almost tore himself apart. He’d fought for the right to touch space and had won, bringing with it fame and honor like he’d never experienced before. People all over the world knew his name and he carried their expectations, as well as the responsibility of the Garrison and the lives of his friends on his shoulders. But he was ready.

It didn’t stop him from stealing a moment between all of the press conferences and last minute engine checks to just breathe.

The desert air cored him open with every inhale, hot and dry as the sun beat down on his back, like it was trying to burn him through his uniform. Not even that was enough to dampen his excitement. He’d had to do a whole lot more than  _stealing_ to get here.

“You sure that guy won’t tell?” Keith asked, sending a dirty look over his shoulder like he could still see the security officer they’d passed, even if they’d left him behind at the gate. He’d looked the same way when Shiro’d slipped the man some extra change to look the other way, maybe misread Keith’s visitor’s pass a little.

Keith was always so careful. It used to make Shiro feel the worst sort of guilt. There was nothing Keith wanted more than to fly, they were so much alike in that way, but Keith had more to lose than most. It was almost enough to make Shiro turn back. Almost. Keith had this look in his eye, this wild, eager gleam Shiro always saw when Keith had a hoverbike purring between his legs and he was getting ready to do something insane.

They were alike in that way, too.

“We’re supposed to have visitors anyway. What’s the harm?” Shiro grinned. It only made Keith frown harder, but at least he’d stopped looking over his shoulder.

“Any news from your moms?”

It was a gruff and direct question, as close to uncertain as Keith ever gave away, but he was looking at Shiro like a kid who’d dropped his ice cream cone, and something in Shiro’s chest twisted. So he laughed. It was easy. And he slung his arm around Keith’s shoulders, because that was easier still.

“They’ll catch the next one. Come on, you can’t tell me you  _don’t_ wanna see this!”

Keith didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. He was already caught up in Shiro’s enthusiasm like always. All it took was a single bring smile and a bad idea, and he was already in without question. He could never say no when it made Shiro happy and to be honest, the same kind of excitement hummed in his veins like an infection.

Or maybe it was just because Shiro was so close, he could feel the warmth of the other man through their uniforms.

“Alright.” Keith’s words were clipped and gruff, but Shiro knew all the things he couldn’t say and gave him that grin that set Keith’s heart spiraling.

“I don’t think I can get you in. They’re running the final checks before the launch, but I wanted to show you home away from home for the next year or so.” Shiro said, leading Keith across the tarmac where the gleaming rocket dominated the landing platform. The Garrison engineers had been piecing it together for months while Shiro and the rest of the crew underwent their final training sessions to prepare for the deep space mission all the way to Pluto’s moon, Kerberos. It wasn’t expected to be a particularly exciting flight, but Shiro couldn’t wait to stand at the very edge of known space at the very limit of their solar system, and look beyond at the galaxy they’d never had a chance to see before. He was going to be the first to have that chance.  

“I’m not asking to fly the thing, Shiro.” Keith said sourly. “I didn’t expect we’d be able to get inside.”

“When’s that stopped us before?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro caught Keith smile, and quietly cheered.

“That might get you kicked off this thing.” Keith warned, but there was a dry edge to his tone. “Not that that’s ever stopped you either.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I never break the rules. Remember?” He asked with a wink and Keith rolled his eyes. That slanted little smile hadn’t gone anywhere though, and Shiro couldn’t have been more pleased.

Keith scuffed his foot against the dirt, kicking up a dust cloud that he seemed far too interested in. “It’s going to be quiet around here, without all your… rule-abiding.”

“It’s only for a year. Before you know it, you’ll be graduated and the two of us will be assigned the first extrasolar mission together.” Shiro said with such certainty that Keith had to believe him. “Besides, I think I’ve found a way to send messages home.”

“What?” Keith looked up sharply. “I thought you couldn’t send personal messages on the Kerberos mission, it’s part of regulations!”

“I know and while I do follow  _all_ the rules, I’ve heard from a little birdy named Matt Holt that there’s a way to get a message back. He’s got some sort of genius boy code worked out, I’m not sure how it works but I’m sure I can get him to send back something. That way, it won’t feel like I’m gone for so long.”

“Shiro, that’s…”

Shiro’d meant to make a joke, something about Keith actually checking his email between now and next year, but something in Keith’s tone stopped him. Keith was looking up at him, and not even the desert sun could steal the intensity behind his dark eyes. “You don’t have to do that.”

His voice was gravel rough, almost too low to hear under the whir of machinery. Shiro didn’t like it. His grip tightened almost without meaning to, offering reassurances before he could figure out why. “I want to.” Shiro said, a rush of daring rushing up to him, like he was staring down the edge of a cliff he already knew he was going to jump. “I’m going to miss you, Keith.”

There was so much more he wanted to say, but it all caught in Shiro’s throat before he could force it free. He cursed himself, he knew he should have practiced this. He’d thought about it too often, his last chance to admit everything before he left for Kerberos. The pressure had been building for months, filling his chest and expanding until it felt like it would crack through his ribs with every beat of his heart. This mission was everything he’d ever wanted, except he’d let himself want something he’d never factored into his plans.

Keith was scowling as he looked up at the rocket as if he hadn’t caught the hesitation in Shiro’s voice. He scrutinized every line, trying to find flaws in the design and came up empty. Only the tension in his shoulders gave him away as Shiro felt the muscles tightened beneath his hand. “Yeah, well. You better. It’s not going to be  _that_  long.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

It only made Keith tense further, and Shiro stopped. There was something he’d wanted to tell Keith, something about jet propulsion systems that their tech guys had been really excited about. It didn’t matter when the dark turn in Keith’s mood only made him worry. “And you know, if you stick with Iverson, he can probably help you along. He’s a bit of a stickler for rules, but if you can handle a little shmoozing…”

Keith made a face, and Shiro laughed, all the lighter when Keith turned into him, moving into his space.

“Shiro I need you to stop. I have to tell you something.”

Then his hand fisted in Shiro’s shirt, and he yanked him closer. Shiro knew but he didn’t,  _couldn’t_. His mind went blank, unable to process, but Keith’s grip was unshakable, his attention laser-focused and devastating, and all Shiro could do was move in closer.

After all his hoping and his fantasies, Shiro was still so unprepared. Keith stretched up on his toes, eyes screwed tight. The world slowed and the sound of his heartbeat rushed into the space until Shiro couldn’t hear anything else, just the racing thud and the feel of Keith pressed against him, small and tense like a bird about to fly off in fear. He could feel his breath fanning against his lips.

“Shiro! Hey Shiro!” The familiar voice of Matt Holt called out behind him and Shiro winced, glancing back to where his crewmate and the entire Holt family had been taking pictures across the tarmac. “Dude, come and take a picture with us.”

And just like that, it shattered.

They pulled back with wide eyes, too surprised to speak. Shiro stuttered and cleared his throat, the moment fragile enough to break and send them both running. “Keith…” 

Keith stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his own feet, his eyes too wide and pale with fear. Matt was saying something, introducing his sister, his mother, talking a mile a minute and bleeding excitement. 

“Wait, Keith.” Shiro pleaded, taking an uneasy step backwards, throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder. Matt was still calling. “Just, just wait.”

Shiro had to go.

The Holts were a whirlwind of laughter. Everyone was clamoring to get into a picture. The Holt siblings created their own little creating, and the rest of them had no choice but to ride along. Somewhere between one moment and the next, an official photographer was brought out for an impromptu interview. It was messy and loud, and when Shiro finally managed to pull away, Keith was already gone.

A quick check through the Garrison turned up nothing, when Keith didn’t want to be found, he would disappear. He gave up with a sigh and headed back to his dorm, the taste of Keith still on his lips. He’d screwed up, he’d wanted to tell Keith how he’d felt for so long that he knew the entire fantasy by rote. Freezing had never been part of the plan, he should have  _said_  something, told him the truth. Spilled out his heart in his hands and offered it to Keith as long as he’d wait. God, he was so stupid.

But Keith had…

Keith had almost…

He flopped back on his bed and looked up at the bare walls, everything stripped down and already packed for the mission. All he could do was cover his face in his hands and laugh.

_Keith wanted to kiss him!_

A full-bodied shudder ran through him, and for a second, Shiro couldn’t breathe. There was no mistaking it. He couldn’t have misunderstood, right? Shiro groaned, hiding his face in his hands, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

Shiro’s phone buzzed and he nearly fell off the mattress in his scramble to grab it, flicking through the new texts.

[Keith]: You better send me messages Mr. Rule Breaker

[Keith]: I promise I’ll be waiting

**Author's Note:**

> You can find Dans [here.](http://itdans.tumblr.com/)  
> Rune's tumblr is [here](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/) and twitter is [here.](http://twitter.com/runicscribbles)
> 
> Please comment if you enjoyed! Come say hello. :)


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